Ten Lucky Draws: I Became OP - Chapter 544: Thresholds - The Father

While Ash continued to enjoy time with his grandmother, half a year slipped by, and during that period, a certain grandfather and granddaughter had been relaxing comfortably in the Prime Expanse.

Kagami and Kaguya sat together on the peak of a towering, jagged mountain that rose high above the endless expanse.

The mountain itself was formed of dark crystal-like stone that shimmered with faint inner light, as if it contained trapped stars.

From this height, the Prime Expanse stretched out before them in all its incomprehensible scale — an infinite battlefield of citadels, colossal war platforms, and shifting territories that stretched across distances too vast to measure.

The air here felt heavy, ancient, and laced with the constant hum of preparation.

And even in what should be the home… the safe haven for many. The place itself felt like it was holding its breath for a war that had already been raging for eons.

Kaguya sat with her legs crossed, her twelve tails curled around her as she gazed out at the horizon. Her mirrored eyes reflected the distant lights of massive Thresholds floating in the void.

“When we first arrived here… I thought we would’ve had some fun with Destiny,” she said quietly, her voice carrying a hint of lingering frustration.

“But it was just… empty. Threads everywhere, but no one.”

When they appeared from the road, they were directly in Destiny’s private realm. However, she was still long gone as she anticipated their arrival.

Kagami nodded, his expression thoughtful as he rested his arms on his knees.

“Hmm, with her prowess over the Greater Narrative, she probably seen us coming.”

After waiting for her to reappear for three months, they decided to stop wasting time and gather intel.

He gestured with one hand toward the sprawling vista below.

“And this is place is truly something.” He said, “The Prime Expanse… it’s like one massive bastion.”

This place had eighteen Thresholds, each operating like a massive war camp.

They were essentially the domains or continents of the lower realms, but on an unimaginably larger scale.

Each one spanned thousands of light-years, teeming with billions of beings — all at the Twenty-First Dimension or higher.

The reason they believed it to be a Bastion was that, at the very edge of the Prime Expanse, there stood a wall — something Ash would find eerily familiar.

It was an immense wall of darkness, like the embodiment of death itself, and before it stretched countless camps of cultivators, endlessly preparing, training, and moving in and out of the boundary.

Kaguya’s gaze drifted toward one of the nearer Thresholds—a colossal edifice of white marble and gold, bristling with weapons and fortifications capable of leveling entire realities.

“Threshold Seven… that was where Destiny’s domain lay,” she remarked.

With a chuckle, she added, “And who would’ve guessed she was basically a foot soldier by the standards here?”

Over time, they learned that the numbering of the Thresholds directly reflected power and importance.

In Destiny’s domain, it was clear she was no more than a 21-D being—22-D at best. Yet beyond her realm, they sensed countless other presences far more powerful.

Kagami let out a low breath, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“Yes, and a war that has been going on since the beginning of time.” He said confirming the final information they’ve learned so far.

With their power to interact with the Greater Narrative it was not hard to find out what they needed to know.

Especially since they both were beings of the Mirror, they could simply reveal hidden truths.

And this place, the Prime Expanse, it was technically existence itself.

There was nothing that lay above it nor any lost connection to it. Beyond the boundary was the war between Existence and Nonexistence.

He paused, then added with a wry smile.

“We’re outsiders here. Powerful ones, but still outsiders. So, let’s not cause much trouble in the meantime.”

He said as he knew now they would have to be more hands on to get information.

Kaguya fell silent for a moment, her mirrored eyes catching the distant glow of the Thresholds.

“I never intended to in the first place,” she said at last, rising to her feet and brushing off her clothes.

“I doubt Husb—” She stopped short, catching herself.

“Hmph. I doubt that bastard’s coming here to fight their war… but if we’re going to disrupt what’s coming, we need to understand it.”

Kagami rose as well, shaking his head as he couldn’t understand the power of Ash’s charm.

’He’s too much…’ He thought as he spoke out.

“Then, let’s move. There’s still much more to see.”

The two of them vanished from the mountain peak, continuing their exploration of the Prime Expanse.

—–

Male and The Merchant flew slowly through the First Reality of Nonexistence.

The realm was a vast, oppressive expanse of absolute darkness broken only by faint, flickering whisp of shadowy essence.

The air — if it could even be called that — felt thick and heavy, pressing against their skin like cold oil.

And distant, formless horrors drifted through the void, their silhouettes twisting and unraveling as they moved.

Male’s long black hair drifted behind him like ink, his pale skin almost glowing against the darkness.

He flew with quiet, measured grace, his expression unreadable.

Beside him, The Merchant kept pace, her bronze skin shimmering faintly, her flame-like hair flickering and shifting as if alive.

She had grown closer to him over the months since Ash’s Grand Ball — not out of genuine affection, but necessity.

Following Minx’s orders, she had used her system to buy him anything he needed or wanted, gradually earning his trust.

She glanced at him, her voice soft yet searching.

“We’ve been traveling through Nonexistence for so long… and the only hint we’ve heard about its origin is The Father,” she said, recalling the faint tales they’d both heard of a similar figure from existence—The Mother.

Like most of existence, she had no proof such beings were real.

“Do you think he truly exists? Or is he just another myth created to make sense of it all?”